It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

I don't understand all of these positive reviews. All the reasons given for this being a good film are exactly why I think this movie stinks. Arch Hall Jr. not only is a horrible actor, he is a horrible looking actor. Not entertaining, not suspenseful, not compelling, just a really, really, really bad piece of cinematic garbage.

The only way out for Arch Hall Jr.'s psychopathic character is a violent demise, and once the suspense builds for this troublesome exploitation film, the desire to see his character gunned down and die slowly and painfully increases. His character, as that of his quiet but equally psychopathic girlfriend Marilyn Manning, are both massively sadistic, enjoying the emotional torment that they put on the three teachers stranded just outside of L.A. Sort of a combination of Cagney at his most psychopathic and Mickey Rooney in "Boy's Town", Hall is increasingly sadistic and ugly, photographed deliberately to look that that in close-ups. I find him perhaps too real as he gets more and more demented and desperate yet it's difficult to take your eyes off of him. Some of the twists with his character are gripping to watch in many ways, and at one point, when Alden gets the upper hand on him briefly, I found myself cheering as to what he did next that I did not see coming. The performances to me are perhaps too intense, giving this already disturbing subject matter much more of an uncomfortable emotional involvement. Richard Alden and Helen Hovey did good with their roles as two of the victims. Sometimes a film can have too much tension to the point where you just become angry that civilized society has allowed itself to turn out such garbage as the characters that Hall and Manning play. I can see why this has a cult following as it is mesmerizing for sure but overall, it left me feeling angry and frustrated-not at the movie itself, but at the situation and atmosphere in general.

Don't mind the fact that this is a low-budget film made in 1963. Or that Arch Hall Jr. has a cheesy filmography to boast (or not) about. The Sadist is one of those B-movies that stands the test of time and deserves every bit of recognition it could get. The only thing that's dated in this film, aside from the clothes, is the Coca-Cola bottle. It's seriously one of the most tension-filled movie I've seen from start to finish - especially that climax! Modern film makers could learn a thing or two from this little black & white exploitation movie that's unfortunately, undeservingly buried in obscurity - unbeknownst to most people.This movie is suspenseful and thrilling from start to finish. It has no gore (you can see a bit of blood in some scenes but that's about it), no over the top violence, no sex, it was made in the 60's with a budget of more or less 33,000 dollars - and yet, the terror is so thick, the scenes are taut - this is a truly well-directed film and in my honest opinion, a far more superior movie than most big-budgeted horror- thrillers nowadays. The extra long climax was one of the most well- executed scenes I've seen.go here for my full review :) http://strangereview.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-sadist-is-best-torture- you-can.html

By anybody's standards, Arch Hall, Jr., was no titan among thespians. Nevertheless, he made at least one nerve-racking thriller where he displayed surprising acting chops. As the eponymous character in "The Sadist," Arch makes life thoroughly miserable Hell for a trio of teachers. The set-up for "Stakeout" writer & director James Landis's suspenseful saga is both classic but formulaic. When the fuel pump in their car goes bad in the middle of nowhere, three public school teachers pull into an auto-parts salvage yard just off the highway. It seems that this unlikely trio was driving to a Dodgers baseball game in Los Angeles. One woman is riding with two men, and she cannot understand the complicated rules of the game. She cannot fathom the weirdness of baseball, especially the necessity of having to touch the bases during a home run. One of the teachers knows his way around engines because he repaired tanks in the army. Anyway, no more than 12 minutes later, the villainous Arch Hall with his fluffy coiffure appears with his girl friend and an automatic pistol. The remaining 79 minutes gradually gets under your skin because Arch makes you believe that he is bad, as in lethal. The action plays out as close to real time as possible. Aside from the opening scenes, "The Sadist" takes place in one setting during noon.After he wanders up with his girlfriend Judy at an auto salvage yard, Charles A. 'Charlie' Tibbs (Arch Hall Jr. of "The Choppers") takes school teachers Ed Stiles (Richard Arlen of "The Pit"), Carl Oliver (Don Russell of "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?") and Doris Page (one-time actress Helen Hovey) hostage. Charlie smacks around Carl with his pistol. Later, he harasses defenseless Doris for putting on airs. Carl is a 50-year old school teacher with a mustache and horn-rimmed spectacles. In other words, he is harmless. Ed is the mechanic of the three who tries to change out the fuel pump. Naturally, Charlie picks on the older teacher. The heartless killer forces him to get down on his knees and talk until he finishes drinking his soda. Eighteen year old Judy Bradshaw (Marilyn Manning of "Eegah") is just as heartless as her bloodthirsty boyfriend. "School's out, teacher," Charlie says and blasts Carl at point blank in the same composition. Charlie and Judy retire to gargle more soda pop while Ed explains the problem to Doris. As it turns out, Charlie and Judy is a murderous couple who have killed two other innocent bystanders before they got to the salvage yard. Arch is pretty intense when he challenges Ed to disarm him. You see, Ed has been trying to figure out how many bullets Charlie has fired.Landis generates suspense when two thirsty California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops roll onto the premises. They just want a Coke because the heat is so brutal. Charlie has stashed Ed in the trunk of a car when he makes small talk with the police. Judy has a knife pulled on Doris, and they lay hidden out of sight behind a car. When Doris cries out during a struggle over the knife, Charlie shoots the two cops without so much as a second thought. Afterward, Judy scavenges their corpses and then snatches up a cat and fondles it. Charlie gives Ed eleven minutes to repair the car. Charlie doesn't trust Ed worth a damn. Ed orders Doris to climb behind the wheel while Charlie covers Ed with his Colt auto-pistol. The way that cars worked back in 1963, Ed has to prime the carburetor with gasoline to get the engine started. As he brings the gas pump nozzle under the hood, he surprises Charlie and squints enough into his eyes to blind him temporarily. This is when our villain mistakenly kills his girl. Ed scrambles off to hide in the salvage yard and appropriates a tire-iron. A tense game of cat and mouse occupies the last ten minutes as Charlie and Ed search for each other. Mirrors are used with considerable finesse during this scene. Principally, Ed tries to make Charlie empty his pistol. Charlie surprises Ed and shoots him several times with a revolver stuck in his waistband. Doris flees on foot and Charlie takes Ed's car to pursue her. He gets the car stuck in sand and follows Doris on foot with a knife. He chases her around the woods and falls into a well teaming with rattlesnakes. Basically, this resembles a scene from "True Grit." Indeed, Charlie is given a fitting death scene at the fangs of the poisonous reptiles. The ultimate irony is the radio broadcast of the Dodgers game throughout the action.Landis wrings genuine suspense from this modest but compelling stand-off of a saga. A definite plus is future Oscar-winner Vilmos Zsigmond's evocative cinematography. The scene where crazed Charlie guns down his gal by accident because gasoline blurs his vision is nothing short of fantastic. "The Sadist" qualifies as a believable portrait of two vicious murderers before anything like "Badlands." Mind you, Arch didn't deserve an Oscar, but he strives to act like somebody that he clearly could never have been in real life: a homicidal maniac. Primarily, he hams it up, but he creates a despicable psychopath.